- By-elections in eight wards have been formally postponed.
- In the past year, by-elections have only happened under Level 1 lockdown.
- Hearings over whether the 27 October local government elections should continue are ongoing.
The Electoral Court has postponed the by-elections that were due in eight wards on Wednesday.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) requested a postponement for the by-elections in wards in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. This amid an increase in the Covid-19 infection rate and after President Cyril Ramaphosa moved South Africa to adjusted Alert Level 4 lockdown on Sunday.
In its order on Wednesday, the court said the postponement of the by-elections was authorised, but not for later than 120 days from the date of the order.
Essentially, the order was a formality as the IEC had halted all preparations for the by-elections, including special voting the day before.
Electoral Commission welcomes Electoral Court postponement of 8 by-elections on 30 June in the ECape, KZN, NCape and WCape across 48 voting stations and involving 71 305 registered voters. https://t.co/R0s7C06LiV for ward details.
— IEC South Africa (@IECSouthAfrica) June 30, 2021
The IEC argued that under the current lockdown and given the prevalence of the virus, proceeding with elections would nullify the government's measures to contain the pandemic.
The commission said it welcomed the postponement, which affects 71 305 voters.
In the past year, by-elections have only happened under Level 1 lockdown.
Wednesday's polls were set to be the final set of by-elections before the 27 October local government elections.
Meanwhile, retired deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke continued his hearings into whether the local government elections could be free and fair under current pandemic conditions.
One South Africa Movement's leader Mmusi Maimane, who wanted the October elections to go ahead, argued that the right to life didn't only relate to the Covid-19 pandemic, but also the conditions under which people were forced to live.
"We must also weigh up the right to life as it pertains to the state of local government," he said.
Although he admitted that his argument touched on the terrain of politics, he pointed out that the Auditor-General in a recent report found that local government was in a state of collapse.
He said:
He said it wouldn't be fair to ask those citizens to endure the current conditions for longer without them being given the mandate to remove the current councils.